Our Eco-Ethos on all our Tours

Natural Area Focus

We have had the pleasure of showing guests our beautiful country for over 20 years and for this reason we are very much aware of the need to preserve the natural habitats we have in Ireland.

All of our walks follow way marked ways where access has been agreed with landowners and we always follow the country code to ensure everyone can enjoy these spectacular parts of the country without causing any friction with landowners

As a company we follow the “Leave no trace” principles. We send this information to all our guests before they begin there tours with us and reiterate the importance of respecting the environment your visiting during our pre tour briefing

As a company we feel our guests should enjoy their tour as part of a small intimate group of like-minded people, for this reason we keep our guided tours to a maximum of 14 people with most of our tours in the 7-10 people range.

As part of our tours we visit National parks and protected lands such as:

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher, Global Geo Park. Co. Clare

Skellig Michael, UNESCO world Heritage Site, Co Kerry

Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry

Connemara National Park, Co. Galway

Wicklow Mountains National Park, Co. Wicklow

Glenveagh National Park, Co. Donegal

Ballycroy National Park, Co. Mayo

The Giants Causeway, UNESCO world Heritage Site, Co Antrim

When we visit these areas our guests are briefed on the importance of these areas to Ireland’s wild flora and fauna. We only visit areas we are permitted to and ensure our leave no trace policy is reiterated during the visit.

Ireland is a country steeped in history and culture so we feel it is important to integrate visits to sites of archaeology importance such as Slea Head, Dingle. We endeavour to inform our guests on the social history of Ireland with visits to sites such as the Museum of Country Life in Turlough Park Castlebar. We pride ourselves on having guides who can bring to life the walks each day with stories and information on the various locations they visit. Our guides will be happy to answer any questions you may have on the local wildlife, however we are always very conscious of never disturbing wildlife in anyway.

Interpretation and Education

Education has always been a part of our tours. We pride ourselves in not only showing our guests the amazing landscapes and scenery we are so lucky to have in Ireland but ensuring they leave with a sense of how Ireland has become the country it is.

We regularly take our guests to visit local experts in their chosen fields such as Fr Gearoid O Donnchadha who is an expert on St Brendan the Navigator. We also visit interpretive centres in Areas such as The Blasket Island, Cliffs of Moher and Connemara National Park.

Before our guests arrive for their tour we try to give them as much information on the location of their tour and included in this will be a suggested reading list which we are always trying to improve and update.

We also try and use our knowledge to benefit local communities by taking school groups on educational walks in the Native woodland around our office building.

We feel that a holiday is all about the people you meet as well as where you visit and for this reason we try our best to facilitate interaction between our guests and the local people. We go to community music events as well as local sports events. We give you the opportunity to meet local crafts people were you may have the chance to ask questions as well as trying the craft being demonstrated e.g basket weaving in Co. Mayo.

We continue our Eco tourism message to our guests after they have completed their tour with regular newsletters which would all have information on what we as a company are doing to promote Eco Tourism in Ireland.

We are committed to our ongoing promotion of Eco Tourism and for this reason we ensure that all staff receive regular training.

Contributing to Conservation

As a company who operate in nature we are always looking for ways we can help preserve the natural areas we are so lucky to be able to take our guests to. We are members of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) have supported the IPCC for many years and we now offer our guests the opportunity to donate to the IPCC if they wish. We are actively involved in the Tralee to Fenit Greenway project where we hope we can have an off road cycle way similar to the Greenway in Mayo in the near future.

Our guides love nothing better than sharing their knowledge of Ireland’s nature with our guests. Our guides have access to our library of publications on Ireland’s Flora and Fauna to ensure we impart as much knowledge as possible to you. For our Self Guiding guests we send suggested reading lists with Pre-departure information so you have time to gain some knowledge before arrival.

Our tours visit regions in Ireland such as:

Antrim Coast & Glens,

The Causeway Coast ( UNESCO world heritage site)

Skellig Michael (UNESCO world heritage site)

The Burren and The Cliffs of Moher (Geoparks)

National Parks – Killarney, The Burren, Donegal, Wicklow, Connemara

European Destination of Excellence such as The Sheeps Head Peninsula, Co. Cork and The Great Western Greenway in Mayo. When we visit these areas of natural beauty we ensure that our guests realise the importance of conservation for the species that live in them. We are also aware of the importance of maintaining our local towns and villages and encourage all staff to volunteer for their local tidy town group.

Benefiting local communities

We support local employment in all the regions of Ireland we provide tours. We employ local guides whenever possible and only use local pubs, restaurants and other suppliers. We prefer to use restaurants and accommodations who also buy local and support their local suppliers. We encourage our guests to visit local crafts people and buy their souvenirs from them. We only use local suppliers for our office equipment and supplies and for all our marketing material including our new website. We work closely with other local activity providers in the regions we visit to help local business and improve our guests experience. We work closely with community groups such as the “Burren Beo” group who are a community group who endeavour to promote and support the sustainable management and use of the Burren region and the heritage in an accessible, inclusive and effective manner. We are members of the Kerry Historical Society and The Kerry Way Walking Trail Committee, Adventure Travel Trade Association as well as a member of Go Kerry since they began and attend regular meetings.

Visitor Satisfaction

All our guests on guided tours are given the opportunity to give feedback to their guides during their tours and we would gather a lot of our feedback this way. All guests are given a feedback form when they complete their tour and again this has proven to be a great tool for gathering feedback. We have included in this feedback a section on Eco tourism. We are registered on Trip Advisor, Facebook and Google + where our guests can rate their experience also.

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